Musicians drumming complex rhythms....flames from an open fire casting intricate patterns of light and shadow....dozens of dancers in the thick darkness of night.

Could this really be a gathering at Concord Carlisle Regional High School?

But this was the scene there last summer. The event was facilitated by Jimi Two Feathers, who, with his wife Morwen Two Feathers (both pictured at right), are the founders of West Concord's Earth Drum Council (EDC).

Since 1990, they have been using drumming and indigenous cultural council tools such as the fire circle to promote community building, cultural awareness, personal growth and social change. This fall they will repeat the fire circle for students. Jimi has also worked in the past with Council process as a conflict resolution and anti-racism tool with students at Minuteman Technical High School. Also this fall, he will work with CCHS special needs students offering a 12-week session on drumming and council.

What is this "Sacred Hoop?" Many indigenous peoples the world over have creation stories about a Sacred Hoop that originally encircled the world and all the creatures, rocks, and plants within it as Relations. Through human actions including enslavement and exploitation, forced relocation of whole populations, pollution of water, air and earth, pillage of natural resources and indiscriminate destruction of animal and human habitats, the Sacred Hoop has been broken. Today our world faces a crisis as never before in human history. Everywhere people are hurting and killing each other because they are different colors, speak different languages, follow different religions. In addition, because of our technological "advances," we are literally capable of making the planet uninhabitable for ourselves. Many people are working to address pieces of the problem, but few (other than indigenous elders) are asking the question: How may the Sacred Hoop be mended? We suggest that the spiritual perspective of the Old Ways is an important resource for people working to affect change, to help us see how our pieces of the work are connected in a larger framework, and to support healing on both personal and societal levels. From the Earth Drum Council Website

"Drumming and dance have played similar roles in cultures all over the world," explains Morwen. "They are used for celebration, communication, marking rites of passage, invoking religious ecstasy, and healing." Through their work, the EDC creates a space where many different drumming and dance traditions can be experienced, respecting the integrity of each culture. "We acknowledge that all these traditions are related in the human heartbeat. That is the seed of a new culture, one honoring all regardless of race or sex. One that integrates mind, body, heart, and spirit."

EDC's biggest project so far is Mending the Sacred Hoop: A Gathering of the Five Colors. To be held from October 13-15, this weekend conference at the University of Massachusetts in Boston explores the use of drumming and council to heal the wounds of racism. The center of the conference is the Council of Elders of the Five Colors. The Five Colors are the traditional Four Colors of the Four Directions: Red, White, Yellow, and Black, representing the colors of humanity, with the Fifth Color being Brown, for multi-racial people everywhere.

"To our knowledge, the core goal of this project has never been accomplished before," says Jimi. "And that is to bring elders of the Five Colors together in council to discuss Mending the Sacred Hoop. Bringing communities of the Five Colors together will create practical strategies for this task."

Events include a keynote address by Babatunde Olatunji, a Council of Elders of the Five Colors, small group talking circles, cultural performances with the Bamidele Dancers and Drummers, Odaiko New England, and storyteller Marge Bruchac, and participative music-making. It is co-sponsored by the College of Public and Community Service. For registration, program information, schedule and costs, see their Website here.

EDC has received a challenge matching grant of $4,000 from the Concord-based Greeley Foundation for Peace and Justice. It is intended to bring CCHS students to Mending the Sacred Hoop, following up with a four-session workshop on council and drumming skills for conflict resolution to be offered through the student Peer Mediation group at CCHS.

Generous individual donations last year and this have enabled the project to continue; EDC still needs about $1,500 to complete the challenge. (Tax-deductible donations can be made payable to Community Change, Inc, marked "MSH" in memo area, and sent to EDC at PO Box 1284, Concord, MA 01742.)

EDC is also looking for local people who can host a visiting elder for the weekend and take them to and from Boston. They offer free admission to the conference to hosts. If you can help, contact them at (978) 371-2502 or email morwen@EarthDrum.com .

Text: ©2000 The Concord, MA Homepage
Backgrounds: Culprit Fey.
Photo: ©1997 Rick Hartford for the Hartford Courant.
Other Art: © Earth Drum Council.